Keep on Living
by Emily
Summary: A close friend of the rangers makes an awful decision. WARNING! Character death.


_I do not own any of the characters in this story. It deals with suicide, so if you don't like to talk about that issue, I would advise that you don't read it. _

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Keep on Living

By: Emily

As the girl watched the rain gently hitting her window, tears that had been threatening to fall all day started. She turned away from the window, tears gently rolling down her cheeks. She didn't make a move to brush them away, as she sat down in the middle of her floor. A slight smile crossed her face as she looked at the photo album in front of her, showing all of the good times that she had with her friends. Herself, Trini, and Jason, laughing as they tried to disentangle themselves from each other. Another showed her and Billy, with Billy looking a little uncomfortable. As she flipped the pages of the album, her smile disappeared.

"But those are just memories. Things in the past, not now." she whispered, closing the photo album and laying next to her. As she picked up the stuffed animal next to her, closing her eyes and remembering who had given it to her, a familiar song came onto the radio. She turned towards the radio and sighed, listening to the words

Do you still remember, how we used to be

Feeling together, believe in whatever

My love has said to me

Both of us were dreamers 

Young love in the sun

Felt like my Saviour, my spirit I gave to you

We'd only just begun

Hasta Manana, Always be mine

_I miss them, _she thought, the words causing her to remember her lost boyfriend. _Including him. He was so sweet, not just to me, but to everyone. And now he's gone. Just like the rest of them._

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Viva Forever, I'll be waiting

Everlasting, like the sun

Live Forever, for the moment

Ever searching for the sun

Yes I still remember, every whispered word

The touch of your skin, giving life from within

Like a love song that I'd heard

Slipping through our fingers, like the sands of time

Promises made, every memory saved

Has reflections in my mind

Hasta Manana, Always be mine

_But the memories aren't enough. And it's too late for me. They've all forgotten about me. _She sighed as she put down the stuffed animal and walked over to her desk. Opening up the drawer, she pulled a small vile out. She closed the desk drawer and walked back by her memories. 

Viva forever, I'll be waiting

Everlasting, like the sun

Live Forever, for the moment

Ever searching for the sun

But we're alone now, was it just a dream

Feelings untold, they will never be sold

And the secret's safe with me

Hasta Manana, Always be mine

_Goodbye my friends, if you even remember me. Keep living on, cherishing everything that you do. I can't. _With that final thought, she put the vile up to her lips and drank it. As the poison began to take effect, she could hear the song fading out. She fell to the ground, her spirit flying free.

Viva Forever, I'll be waiting

Everlasting, like the sun

Live forever, for the moment

Ever searching for the sun

As the song ended, footsteps could be heard stopping in front of the door. As the door opened, a gymnast walked in, her arms full of equipment. 

"C'mon, Kim. Coach wants us to...." The sentence died off as she saw Kim lying on the ground. Her eyes widened as she saw the empty vile next to Kim. 

"KIM!" she screamed, her voice full of fear. Dropping everything in her arms, she ran over to Kim, frantically checking for a pulse. Finding none, she began to scream out for help. As soon as her screams started, footsteps pounded down the hall, screeching to a stop in front of the room. Coach Monroe ran in, and seeing Kim laying on the ground, ran over to the phone. As the girl began to give CPR to Kim, everyone in the room began to pray that she would be alright.

******

The Next Day

"How did you do on the Calculus test yesterday, Kat?" Tanya Sloane asked as she, Katherine Hilliard, and Billy Cranston sat at a table in the Youth Center, finishing homework. Kat looked up and sighed.

"I don't think I did to well. I don't understand any of it." she said. Billy looked over at her.

"If you don't understand it, I can help you." he offered. Kat gave him a grateful smile as she started putting her things back.

"Thanks, Billy. I would really appreciate it." she said. As she stood up, Rocky DeSantos walked over, out of breathe. 

"Hey, does anyone know if the Yankees won yesterday? I didn't have time to check this morning." As Kat and Tanya shook their heads, Billy picked his bag up and pulled a newspaper out. As the three of them looked at him with surprised looked, he shrugged.

"I didn't have time to check it this morning, so I brought it with me." he explained. As he opened up the paper to look for the sports, an article caught Kat's eye.

"Hey, wait a minute. There's an article about a gymnast on the front page." she said. As she took the paper from Billy, her eyes widened as she saw the title. Rocky looked at her.

"What does it say?" he asked. Kat took a deep breathe as she read the title.

"Gymnast found dead in dorm." she said. Billy looked at her in shock as she looked up. 

"What does it say? I wonder if Kim knew them?" he asked. Kat shrugged her shoulders as she started to read the article.

"Early yesterday morning, a young gymnast was found dead in her Florida dorm. From the evidence collected, it appeared that the girl committed suicide, poisoning herself. The victim, recognized as-" Kat abruptly cut off the sentence as she read over the next sentence in her mind. As everyone looked at her expectantly, she took a deep breathe.

"Kimberly Anne Harte."

******

At the same time that morning, a young man was just getting out of bed. He slowly walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed the milk. Making himself a bowl of cereal, he turned on the television. As the news came on, Tommy Oliver watched it, while eating. 

"We have some tragic news this morning," the newscaster said. "Yesterday morning, a young gymnast was found dead in her dorm room." Tommy, upon hearing the word gymnast, looked up immediately. What he saw next gave him the shock of his life.

"The victim, show here in this picture, just recently...." The rest of what the newscaster said was unheard, though, as Tommy stared at the picture of the girl in shock. He recognized the smiling face, the flowing hair, the sparkle in her eye. 

"Kim," he whispered hoarsely. He ran over and shut the TV off, hoping that his eyes were playing a trick on him. He ran over to where the newspaper was and saw the article that the others had seen. He fell back into his chair, the blood draining out of his face. From the front of the house, the doorbell rang. Tommy just sat in the chair, not paying any attention to the doorbell. The door opened and Kat, Billy, Tanya, Rocky, Adam Park, and Jason Scott walked in. They made their way to the kitchen, and froze when they saw Tommy sitting there, his face pale.

"Tommy?" Kat asked quietly. Tommy turned to them, tears shining in his eyes. As he looked into his friends eyes, he saw that, there's too, were filled with unshed tears. Suddenly, as if pulled together with a magnet, the seven teens joined together into a giant group hug, sobbing for their lost friend.

******

_I can't believe this, _thought Adam miserably. _I'm actually at the funeral of one of my closest friends. _As he looked around, he saw that others were having a hard time trying to compose themselves. As he saw both of Kim's parents, his heart went out to them. Her mother was sitting in a chair, weeping, as her ex-husband stood close by. Even though he looked more composed, the life in his eyes was gone. 

_I can't believe how many people that she touched, _he thought. He was shocked at the amount of people that had shown up. Everyone of them was on the verge of crying, if they weren't already. As everyone began to take their seats, Kimberly's parents came up to the podium. They thanked everyone for coming. One by one, people began to go up and told them how Kimberly had touched their lives. As Tommy started to come up, a hush went over everyone, as the remembered how close the two of them had been.

"As most of you know, Kim and I were very close and she helped me through hard times. In one of the worst ones, she wrote a song for me. She gave me a tape of the song, and I'd like to play it for you." Tommy turned to Rocky and nodded. Rocky stood up and brought over a tape player. Tommy pressed play, and soon the room was filled with a familiar beat.

"Down the road we never know

What life may have in store

Winds of change will rearrange

Our lives more than before. 

But you'll never stand alone, my friend

Memories never die

In out hearts they'll always live

And never say good-bye."

As the words ended, many people began to cry as they listened to the sound of Kimberly's voice, knowing fully that they would never hear it again. As he looked into the crying crowd, all of the self-composure that Tommy had managed broke down. Kat was the first to come over to him, trying to comfort him while she was crying as well. Soon, the rest of the rangers, former and current, were all enclosed in a giant group hug, crying for their departed friend.

******

A few days later, all of the rangers were in the park, waiting for Tommy to arrive. While none of them had a smile on their faces, they were learning to live. 

"I see that you all could make it," Everyone turned around and saw Tommy slowly making his way over to them, his shoulders hunched over. Kat stood up and walked over to him, gently laying her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, a slight smile on his face. The two of them walked over, and sat on the ground close to everyone else. 

"You're probably wondering why I called you here." said Tommy. As everyone nodded, he took a deep breathe and pulled an envelope out of a 

"Yesterday, I was looking through the mail, not really paying attention to them, when one of them caught my eye. It was postmarked from Florida." As everyone looked at each other with wide eyes, Tommy opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. "I opened it, and found a letter from one of the people that she had met in Florida."

"What does it say Tommy?" asked Adam. Tommy took a deep breathe and unfolded the letter.

"To Whom in concerns,

Hello, even though I can't tell you my name, I was a friend of Kimberly's down here in Florida. She always talked about everything that she had done with you. She enjoyed everything that she did and the time she had with you. She loved all of you, some like sisters and brothers and other a little more.

When she first came to Florida, she had a hard time fitting in, mostly because of how the other gymnast treated her. They were jealous of her ability and they tried to make her feel unwanted. But she braved through it and she seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself.

No one ever suspected that she was planning on suicide. She seemed a little sad, and we thought it was because of her recent trip to Angel Grove. We all thought she was upset about her ex-boyfriend, but we realize now, now that it's too late, that is was more than that.

I'm just writing this letter to you to tell you how much all of you meant to her. Even though you are all upset and confused about it, she would want you all to keep on living. That's the kind of person she was. Always remember her. She would want you to.

Sincerely,

A friend." 

As Tommy put the letter down, everyone began to wipe away the tears that had filled their eyes. Kat hugged Tommy, as she saw the tears in her eyes. He pulled away, and Kat looked up at him, pain in her own eyes.

"As I read this letter, I realized that it sounded familiar. Just with the way it was written. Then I realized it." He held the letter out, giving everyone a look at it. At the writing. Billy was the first to realize it. Tears began to fall even harder as he recognized the writing. One by one, the rangers recognized the writing, causing their sorrow to grow.

"This is her final good-bye to us, and I think that we should respect her wish. That we live on." With that, Tommy stood up and walked away, leaving everyone to watch him in shock. Kat stood up.

"He's right. We have to live on, and always remember Kim." she whispered. She turned around and followed Tommy. One by one, the rangers stood up and followed the others, a start of a smile on each of their faces. Soon, no one was left but Billy. He looked down at the note, his heart heavy.

_I should have told her how I feel about her! Now it's too late. She's gone. _Billy though sadly, he began to walk away, nothing but sadness filling his heart.

_It's never too late. _Billy turned around as he heard the voice and his mouth dropped open. Leaning against the tree in front of him, was none other than Kim. Her hair was freely flowing down her shoulders. She was wearing a short white dress and she didn't have any shoes on. She walked over to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder, a smile on his face.

_It's never to late to tell me how you feel. I'll always be here to listen to you. _She sighed as she pulled Billy down. They sat down on the grass. She turned towards him, her eyes smiling.

_I know that it's too late for us, but you deserve to know why I did it. Why I gave up. _ He nodded his head. She sighed and looked down. _Ever since I went to Florida, I've been trying desperately to keep in touch with all of you. I wrote letter after letter, but no one ever answered me. No visit, no letter, not even a phone call from anyone. I felt like no one cared anymore. _

__

"Kim, you know that we loved you, and I know that we should have kept in touch. But that doesn't mean that you had to give up!" Billy whispered.

_I know. But, that's not the only reason. A couple weeks ago I went to the doctor to get a physical, because I had been making mistakes, ones that I shouldn't have made. They called me back and told me that I had a brain tumor. The doctor's couldn't do anything for me. I knew that when I died, I wouldn't even look like this. I couldn't live with it, Billy. I know I took the wrong way out, but it's too late to fix it. _Billy looked at her, tears running down his cheeks. Kim leaned forward and hugged him.

_I have to go, Billy. Make sure everyone keeps living. And I wish you and Cestria the best of luck. _She leaned forward and kissed him before disappearing. Billy opened his eyes and found that he was alone in the park. He stood up, the beginning of a genuine smile on his face. As he walked away, the letter that all of them had forgotten about, fluttered away. It floated through the park, landing in the middle of the lake. It slowly started to sink, the ink on the page running off, making the letter unreadable. 

The End.


End file.
